Satirical Statue Gets Permit in Rockville, Drawing Viewers
A temporary "art" installation on display this week was catching passerby eyes at the Montgomery County Board of Education building in Rockville.
It's a bronze statue of a sexual assault evidence collection kit box smothered beneath a pillow under a Three Wise Monkeys rendering.
According to a plaque on the satirical art installation, it claims to "honor" those who promoted disgraced former MCPS administrator Joel Beidleman to Principal of Paint Branch High School despite a litany of ongoing harassment and sexual assault investigations.
The statue is an apparent demonstration against BOE members running for reelection, which includes Lynne Harris and Shebra Evans.
The sarcastic plaque accompanying the statue reads: “This memorial honors the brave men and women who promoted Joel Beidleman to high school principal to harass, belittle, and assault county employees, while running a school system that turned a blind eye to a mountain of egregious complaints and ordered its own investigators to mute their findings. This monument stands as a testament to daring leadership and lasting legacy.”
The Joel Beidleman fiasco resulted in several top officials being ousted from MCPS. Superintendent Monifa McKnight was fired and COO Brian Hull left under pressure. BOE member Rebecca Smondrowski lost her re-election bid in the primary in May.
The statue's artist was not immediately known. According to a public gathering permit approved by the City of Rockville, the piece is called "The Rape Kit."
The statue was set up Thursday and will be on display until Nov. 6, according to the permit.
"I can't believe anyone would approve a permit like this," one user posted on X, calling the statue "tasteless."
"Welcome to MoCo, where a bronze rape kit statue honors the people who tried to put a predator behind the principal's desk," another said.
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Editor’s Note: This article is satirical and there is no bronze statue in front of the BOE building. The Montgonion does not usually label its own articles as satire. However, because of the current attempts by foreign actors to mislead U.S. voters by creating fake news content, we are making an exception for our politically themed articles.
